Of Rings and Ghosts
by Prelude in Indigo
Summary: It really all starts when a ghost throws a ring at the back of Gokudera's head, and it all goes downhill from there...


**Ah. I wrote this. T_T**

**Gokudera and Haru aren't my favorite couple, but the point of this story wasn't really the romance part. It was fun to write. The beginning's awkward. Ugh, I guess I should do a couple of warnings. =.= **

**Wow, this was surprisingly hard to write. I must just suck at writing anything that requires any sort of, you know, focus, really. I can't think of the word at the moment. Stick-to-it-ness? :D Anyway, I kind of got stuck about halfway through. But, I realized that I had yet to write the Chrome and Bianchi scene, and it got me motivated! :D**

**Rating: **T- The idiot's potty mouth! :O  
><strong>Pairings: <strong>GokuHaru, 5986, YamaBia, 8088... (DON'T MOCK MY PAIRING CHOICES. GRR.)  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>9,500... ish...  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It really starts when a ghost throws a ring at a Gokudera's head, and it all goes downhill from there...

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>If there was anything Hayato Gokudera had ever been surer of in his life, it was that he did not. want. the. ring.<p>

The ring was kind of cute, sure, for a girl. It was silver and red and delicate, with intricate coils and garnet stones. He really didn't even know why he was keeping it.

Maybe it was just superstition, but he felt bad about throwing the ring away or even just passing it off.

Superstition, definitely, because the ring had been chucked at his head and when he turned around, all he saw was fog.

In which case, the ring was evidence.

Gokudera's fist closed over it. Maybe a ghost had thrown it at him- maybe it was a sign. He could have been chosen to- "Ow!"

"Dammit!" He hit the ground and threw his hand out in front of him, forgetting the ring inside. It scraped his palm.

"Eek! Gokudera knocked Haru down!"

Gokudera looked up from his stinging palms and stared at Haru's face, which was pink with anger. He groaned. Of course, he couldn't even go one day without bumping into the stupid woman while he walked to the Tenth's house. Haru was sitting back on the concrete sidewalk, glaring at him. "I didn't knock you down, stupid woman! You ran into me!"

"You're a bully and a liar!"

He groaned, again, and picked himself up. When Gokudera wiped his palms off on his pants, they left slight bloodstains. "Dammit, I'm bleeding!"

"Serves you right!" Haru 'hmphed' and scrambled to her feet. "Aren't you supposed to help a lady up?"

"What lady?" he snarled back. "All I see is an idiot. Come on, move it."

Haru picked up her book bag, brushing her bangs out of her brown eyes. She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks, giving Gokudera the impression that she was a chipmunk. "Stupidera has to apologize or Haru's not going anywhere!"

"Fine then!" he snapped. "Stay there for all I fucking care!"

Gokudera turned around, shoulders tense around his neck. And she could stay there for all he cared, stupid nuisance that she was.

Unfortunately, it was not to be so. Haru squealed when she realized that the bomber was leaving her behind and raced ahead to catch up to him.

For the rest of the walk to Tsunayoshi Sawada's house, Gokudera palmed the ring in his hand, admiring the comfortable weight. He was trying his best to ignore Haru Miura, who was (thankfully) silent while she tagged along. It was kind of creepy how they met up every morning walking to Tsuna's house.

The woman was definitely stalking the tenth.

* * *

><p>Gokudera's school day was uneventful, mostly because he had been far too busy pondering over this piece of jewelry.<p>

When he got to the tenth's house after school, he was immediately offered cookies by one very over-friendly Bianchi. Luckily, she seemed to have taken a hint about what her face did to him and she had a pair of goggles (which did nothing to detract from her sense of style, which was _not_ fair) jammed on. That didn't matter much when she was shoving a platter of slightly smoking purple cookies in his face.

He covered his nose, grabbed his stomach, and stuttered out something that sounded like a 'H-hell no!"

Bianchi pouted and pushed the cookies further into his personal bubble. "But I baked them with love~"

"When you say that, it only makes want them less," he retorted.

Thankfully, the cookie platter was removed from his face. Gokudera barely had time to sigh in relief before Bianchi made a grab for one of the chains hanging off his hip. She held it up. The ring was strung along it. "Oh, a ring, Hayato?"

"It's none of your business!" Gokudera took the ring out her hands.

Bianchi straightened her posture and placed her hands on her hips. Her lips curved up in a cryptic smile. "Is it for your girlfriend, Hayato?"

"I don't have a girlfriend! And you're not allowed to call me that, stupid sister!"

She thought this over. "Then you should just give it to the girl you like."

"I don't like any girls!" Gokudera's face turned pink and he hastily strung the chain back through his belt loops.

Once again, Bianchi smiled cryptically. Gokudera was really starting to hate that stupid smile. "Does that mean you like boys, then?"

"I'M STRAIGHT! And even if I did, what makes you think that I would tell you?"

Stupid cryptic smile. "I just know these things."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She pouted her lips and waved her hand at him in a dismissive way, before turning and walking off. Bianchi called back; "It's big sisters' intuition, Hayato!"

"I said don't call me that!"

And he received yet another _stupid, annoying_, cryptic smile.

Gokudera huffed in annoyance and looked around the kitchen, before realizing that he was alone and both the tenth and the baseball idiot had gone upstairs- abandoning him. He hightailed it up the stairs two at a time and barged into Tsuna's room.

Tsuna squeaked upon seeing him, which made Gokudera blanch. He closed the door softly and sat down between Yamamoto and Tsuna. They both smiled at him. Tsuna apologized. "Sorry for ditching you, but it sort of seemed like you and Bianchi had something you were talking about… and, well…"

Yamamoto cut it. "Haha, it always gets pretty scary when you and Bianchi have a 'talk?"

The bomber scowled at the idiot. It wasn't like he _wanted_ to have to communicate with his sister- in fact, he'd rather have willingly swum in a toxic river. That was how much he hated Bianchi. Unfortunately, the more he tried to pry her off, the more she stuck to him, like some oversized leech. The fact that she seemed to try to poison him every three seconds didn't help, and neither did the meddling in his (nonexistent) love life. Girls were stupid, and they always would be.

"It's not my fault if she tries to poison me!" Gokudera pouted at Tsuna and Yamamoto. "What am I supposed to do, just let her get away with trying to kill me?"

"I don't think she's really trying to kill you," Tsuna pointed out. "She's probably trying to help… not very well, though…" The boss sighed and looked down, most likely regretting even trying to speak up for Bianchi.

Gokudera looked away too, the look on his face dark. If the tenth said it, how was he supposed to argue?

The three boys put the issue of Bianchi aside, and decided to get started on their homework. It was math homework and annoyingly easy for Gokudera, but it didn't seem to have been explained well to Tsuna, and Yamamoto was just an idiot as usual. They really did start off working, but somehow work devolved into why math was so hard to understand sometimes, which in turn became a discussion of how people could do that for a living.

This discussion of people who did mathematics for a living was bounced to Reborn. (Tsuna- "I don't understand how Reborn can pretend to be a famous mathematician, he looks like a baby!" Gokudera- "Well, that Borren guy looked like a baby.") After which they remembered Tsuna's escapades with the ever-famous Problem #17.

And that turned to Haru. Tsuna was discussing with Yamamoto the latest thing that the girl had done to bother him (something about hiding inside a cake while wearing a belly dancer's getup) and Gokudera was steadily getting more annoyed.

Whatever she did just irked him, even more than Yamamoto annoyed him, because Yamamoto at least knew when to let things go, but Haru was persistent, clingy, and stupid. But this wasn't anything new; Gokudera found most people in general stupid and annoying.

But it was her obsession with Tsuna that was what really set him off. He personally knew what it felt like to have stalkers; and it wasn't nice.

Yamamoto looked at him sitting there and pouting, and laughed. "Gokudera, I noticed that you've been walking to and from Tsuna's house with Haru a lot. What's that about?"

"It's a coincidence, stupid baseball idiot. Like I would ever walk anywhere with that."

"Haha, really?" He smirked widely. "Are you sure you're not trying to steal her from Tsuna?"

Gokudera spluttered at this.

As if speaking about Haru had attracted her to them (that saying about the devil was true) Tsuna's door was knocked on right then. Gokudera twisted around, to see Haru opening the door, and blushed. She held a slice of chocolate cake.

"Haru?"

"Hi guys," she said, cheerfully. "I came over to say hi, but Bianchi caught me in the kitchen. She asked me to bring this cake up for Tsuna."

Tsuna gave the cake a weird look.

Gokudera understood it very well, but Haru seemed to misunderstand. She blanched, shook her head, and made a gesture of denial. "N-no, there's nothing weird about the cake, Haru realizes that the belly dancer thing was overkill…" ("Damn right it was overkill!" "Shut your mouth, Stupidera!")

Smiling politely, Tsuna eyed the chocolatey slice of cake with all the caution one might apply to a poisonous pit viper. "That's not it, Haru, it's just- whew, am I stuffed! I had a huge snack right after I got home from school and I- I just can't eat anymore-"

"Haha, what are you talking about?" asked Yamamoto, giving Tsuna an _oh-you're-so-funny _sort of look. "You didn't have anything to eat." (Tsuna groaned.) "But if you're not hungry, then I'll go ahead and take it. Bianchi won't mind."

Haru giggled at Yamamoto. _Giggled_.

Gokudera had never seen her giggle at anyone but Tsuna before, and it seemed like the sort of thing stupid brainless girls did to the boys they liked, which was very weird. It annoyed him almost as much as everything else about Haru did. Wasn't she supposed to like the tenth?

Yamamoto beamed right back and (much to everyone's horror) took the cake. He stabbed the tip with his fork and shoved it in his mouth. Gokudera stared at him, wide-eyed, while Haru snickered and exchanged glances with Tsuna. The Vongola Decimo looked equally horrified, watching Yamamoto devour Bianchi's very poisonous cake.

In a few seconds, Yamamoto finished the slice of cake. There was a collective sigh of relief, and Haru was still smiling like one of those stupid fangirls. Yamamoto smiled contentedly and leaned back. "Bianchi's cooking is always so good!"

"…I think you've eaten so much you got brain damage," Gokudera muttered.

"Eek! He does not have brain damage," scolded Haru. She glared at him. "It's a beautiful thing!"

…And now she was acting really weird. Gokudera scowled right back. "You've obviously got brain damage too!"

"How dare you!"

Yamamoto interrupted with a hearty laugh. He grabbed the plate and smiled at the other three occupants of the room. "I'll take this down to Bianchi and say thanks. Be right back; don't start the homework without me!"

Then he exited the still open door, careful to close it behind him. Gokudera wondered just how strong that idiot's stomach was, to be able to take his sister's cooking. He was about to wonder if that old superstition, 'idiots never catch colds,' applied to more than just colds, when Haru started giggling again.

When Gokudera looked over, she was exchanging glances with Tsuna. "Is it just me, or does he seem like he's kinda…"

"Kinda, _you know_…?" Tsuna reddened, and glanced at the door where Yamamoto had left.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Haru giggled some more; and gave Gokudera a look. "What do you think, Stupidera?"

For once, Gokudera let the nickname slide in favor of more pressing matters: the fact that Haru and Tsuna seemed to be talking about Yamamoto. He had kind of seemed eager to take the cake, and carry the plate back for Haru. Maybe he liked her? "Why the fuck would I care?"

"Huh?" Haru was shocked as she leaned towards him. "You mean, you don't mind at all?"

"Hell no!"

But he sort of did. Haru was supposed to adore the tenth; and it was unfair to Tsuna if she secretly had eyes for someone else, especially if that someone else was an idiot like Yamamoto.

"But you shouldn't-"

"Eek! What's this, Gokudera?" exclaimed Haru. Her fingers made a grab for his belt area. (He flinched.) Haru held up the ring, obviously intrigued. "It's really pretty! Where did you get it?"

Again, he let the interruption slide.

Tsuna was looking at the ring with interest too, smiling. "Huh? Gokudera, why do have a ring? I didn't take you for... well, _the type _to buy stuff like that."

"I didn't buy it," he said. He took the ring away from Haru, who was still staring with a fascinated expression, and took it off the chain. "Someone threw it at me. I was walking to the store and it just hit me in the back of the head. When I turned around, there was no one there, just some weird fog! So... I kept it."

"Huh, that's really weird!"

Haru squealed. Her warm brown eyes were big and sparkly. "That's so cool, Gokudera! It's like something out of a horror story! I bet it was a ghost!"

"I know!" he exclaimed. Gokudera grinned widely. "I thought that maybe if I kept it, I could, you know, find out what kind of ghost it was. I've always wanted to meet a ghost!"

Tsuna sighed.

"Eek! Maybe Haru could help you!"

"Who the hell would want your help, you stupid woman?"

"You take that back right now!"

* * *

><p>When he went home that night, Gokudera's mind was very much occupied with thoughts of the ghost ring (which was what they'd decided to call it) and exactly how you were supposed to go about contacting a ghost.<p>

He supposed that if the ring belonged to a ghost, he could conduct a seance or something using it. He'd studied up on that stuff before- you just had to be in a place connected to the ghost, with an item connected to the ghost. That was the ring. Gokudera guessed that he could do it where the ghost had first appeared, outside the store. He might interrupt people, but who really cared about that?

He let himself into his small apartment and slammed the door. This attracted a loud yell of "OI, YOU BRAT! KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE!" from his landlady.

Gokudera immediately suggested, in a rather loud voice, that she do something anatomically impossible. The yelling stopped after that.

With a sigh, the storm guardian observed his apartment. It was messy. But who the hell had time to do anything about that? He was (_usually_) a very busy person. Being the right hand of the Vongola Decimo came with a lot of duties that he was proud to carry out-

His phone rang.

Swearing, Gokudera stomped over to the phone (making the landlady yell once more) and picked it up. "What do you want?"

_"Hayato, I was just wondering if you'd given the ring to someone yet_-"

"HELL NO!"

He hung up.

Gokudera made a mild effort at cleaning off the floor of his living room (read: kicking a blanket into a corner) and settled in on the couch. He picked up a book on spirits and read for a while.

He ended up falling asleep at ten; after all, he wanted to be rested for tomorrow- the tenth and the two idiots had all promised to meet him at the grocer's after school to come with him on his quest to hunt down a real life ghost.

* * *

><p>And they weren't there.<p>

Hayato Gokudera was standing there, wrapped tightly in a jacket and scarf (hell, it was cold) opposite Haru Miura. She had on a gray coat and a pink scarf, an ensemble that was unusually stylish for her. Gokudera wondered if she was dressing up to impress Yamamoto- too bad he'd ditched at the last moment.

Something very important (read: Reborn) had come up for Tsuna and Yamamoto, courtesy of the devil-baby who his sister was in love with. He found it really suspicious that only they had been taken for training, but try as he might, Gokudera couldn't come up with a reason to stick him alone with Haru, so he was forced to comply with Reborn's oddities.

She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to warm up her nose, and shivered. "Gokudera, will we still go to look for the ghost?"

"I'll go," he snapped back, too cold to come up with anything more scathing. "You'll go back home where you belong!"

"Haru just wants to help!"

Haru's cheeks and nose were reddening from cold, and maybe a bit of anger. Gokudera felt himself getting even angrier with the stupid girl. "Jesus! Just go home, it's like thirty degrees out here!"

"Haru doesn't care," she mumbled, playing with her scarf. "I want to help Gokudera find a ghost!"

He huffed. "No, dammit! Go home!"

"I'm not going home until we find a ghost!"

He growled. "Go home!"

"You can't make Haru!"

Gokudera was this close to strangling the idiot, but he had a feeling Tsuna wouldn't be entirely pleased with him if he did that. He sighed and rubbed his temples, ignoring Haru's puppy eyes. "Please. Just go, I don't want to deal with you!"

Haru pouted and leaned in, thoroughly invading Gokudera's personal bubble. He leaned back, cautious of how she seemed to be making her eyes appear bigger. This was why girls ought to be considered a separate species- that and several other things. Anything that could bleed for a week straight was not human.

"P-lease, Goku-dera? Haru's dad has already left, so Haru can't go home! I promise I won't cause any trouble!"

First person. That was bad; she seriously intended to join him on his hunt. Gokudera was caught between the metaphoric hard place and the rock, and- judging by Haru's expression- he had to decide right then. He gulped.

"No way, stupid woman."

Haru's face fell. Gokudera sighed, he really hadn't meant to blurt that out, but no sense in taking it back. He turned around, jamming his hands into his pockets, and started to walk, trying to ignore the sad girl behind him.

When he peeked behind him, Haru was still standing there, half lost in the crowd of people. She covered her nose and mouth with her hands, showing off a disappointed face,

"Alright, fine." When Haru looked like she was going to cheer, he cut her off. "And no annoying sounds, stupid!"

She pouted.

Gokudera rolled his eyes and stalked off, jamming his hands into his pockets. Haru squeaked and hurried after him, shoving through the crowds. "Wait, Gokudera!"

He ignored her, but slowed down until she was able to walk beside him. Haru breathed harshly, her breath white against the gray autumn sky.

"So where did the ring hit your head?"

"I said don't make annoying noises."

"Haru didn't make an annoying noise! I asked a question!"

Gokudera sped up his pace, forcing the shorter girl to skip to keep up with him, very annoyed. Especially because there really was no plausible way to deny she was right. "Right in front of the store."

He pointed. Then both teens sighed- the place was unbelievably crowded, with so many people Gokudera could hardly see through to the windows of the store. The sidewalk area where he'd first found the ring was even more of a trouble spot.

"We should probably wait until there's a bit less people here," mused Haru.

For once, Gokudera agreed. But he had his pride to maintain, so he said, "Tch, whatever, stupid woman."

"Haru is not stupid!"

"Then stop talking in the third person! Why can't you just be normal!"

Haru promptly shut up, looking rather downcast. Gokudera shut his mouth immediately- he hadn't really been trying to hurt her feelings. "Oi, woman, you're not-

"Hey, let's get out of the cold, okay?" Haru smiled. "There's a hot chocolate shop over there that's supposed to be good. Do you mind if we go in?"

She was weirdly calm, which made Gokudera feel even more guilty. He shrugged. "If you want. Just don't take too long."

He was rewarded by seeing Haru cheer up. "Okay! Thanks, Gokudera!"

* * *

><p>Haru and Gokudera exited the coffee shop both warmer and less nervous than before. The hot chocolate had been good, and now Haru was sipping on a second cup happily. Gokudera dragged them out, towards the shop, where people had suddenly cleared up.<p>

"So, Gokudera," she said cheerfully. "What are you thinking we'll do?"

"I'll do," he corrected her. "You're just tagging along and being a nuisance in general." (Haru smacked his arm.) "I think it's a poltergeist. Have you ever heard of those? They're the kind of ghosts who can move objects in the physical world."

"Eek, Haru's heard of those!" Haru beamed. "But aren't they supposed to be mischeivous or something?"

Gokudera took the ring off of the chain and bounced it in his palm, glowering darkly at it. "Trust me, anything that chucks rings at peoples' heads is mischeivous." (Haru- "Y-you're not going to hurt it, are you?" Gokudera didn't grace this with a response.)

The unlikely pair was silent for a second as they crossed the street to the store.

"Hey, Gokudera, isn't Kokuyo near here?"

"You don't even know that? What of it?"

Haru got his attention by pulling on his coat sleeve. She pointed down the sidewalk, in the direction they'd been heading, towards a girl in an olive green uniform. She had unusually eye-catching violet hair. "Isn't that... Chrome?"

"Huh." Gokudera stared for a second. The girl was clutching a bag of groceries to her chest. "What the hell's that thing doing here!"

"Eek, Gokudera! Don't scare her!" Haru grabbed his arm forcibly, slowing him down in his mission to interrogate Chrome. "I- I bet... she might have had contact with the ghost too, Gokudera. Mist types do that kind of thing, right...?"

"Tch. Then we'll question her."

"That's... better than beating her up, I guess..."

Gokudera hurried down the street, shoving people out of his way in his hurry to catch Chrome. He didn't want to have to follow her all the way back to Kokuyo and her creepy master, who was creepy, and that more or less justified pushing a few people. (Behind him, Haru called apologies.)

He finally grabbed Chrome, who squeaked and almost dropped her groceries.

"Chrome, don't worry- it's just me and Gokudera," Haru panted. ("Gokudera and I, stupid woman.")

Chrome blushed, adjusting her grip on the groceries. "H-Haru... and, um, Storm Man..."

"I have a name, bitch, use it- ow, stupid woman!"

Haru beamed brilliantly, to contrast Gokudera's scowl, and pretended she hadn't just pinched him. Chrome clutched her bag of groceries tighter, looking very much like a rabbit forced into a cage. Gokudera rolled his eyes. Was he _really_ that scary?

"Chrome, we just wanted-"

"A-are you guys on a date?" she blurted out. Chrome's eyes were sparkling now.

"Huh?" (For once, in sync.)

"Y-you know, a date!" Chrome smiled, blushing. "You kinda looked like you were on a date..."

Gokudera was utterly dumbfounded. He exchanged equally confused looks with Haru, whose jaw was practically hitting the ground. Then they began to stutter, talking over one another. "He is not- why the _fuck_ would I- that's _completely_ ridiculous -why would you even think that!"

"Er..." Chrome blushed even more deeply, clutching her paper bag to her chest. "Well, I thought Gokudera might have... ooh."

Her eyes found Haru's hand, then the ring hanging on a chain from Gokudera's belt. Chrome's face was now roughly the color of a tomato.

"Wait, did you just look at this ring, pineapple girl!" Gokudera held it out. "What do you-"

"SorryIgottogonowBYE!"

"Eh!" Haru blinked and made a grab for Chrome's shoulder, but the small girl had already ducked into the crowd.

Gokudera swore and grabbed Haru's hand. He pulled her through the crowd, trying to get to Chrome. She peered back over her shoulder, and then sped up. "Oi, pineapple! Wait up!"

She kept on going, much to the annoyance of the two who were forced to chase her.

* * *

><p>Haru groaned, shivering, and rubbed her arms. "Go-ku-de-ra..."<p>

"Shut up, stupid woman," Gokudera ordered her, rubbing his arms too. As the day had gotten darker, the temperature had dropped even further. Now it was almost under freezing temperature. "Your annoying voice is just making it worse!"

"H-Haru's not a st-stupid-d woman!" she stuttered out, words marred by shivering. "You'r-re just t-touchy because you're lost!"

"What did you say! I'm not lost!"

"Yes you are!"

"Hmph. What do you know, stupid woman?"

"St-top calling me that!"

Gokudera frowned and looked away from Haru, at the ruined buildings around them. That stupid Chrome had run off towards Kokuyo, sure, but she'd taken some sort of twisted path meant to throw them off. Sure it enough, it had worked, and now they were trudging through some distant part of Kokuyo in an attempt to get back to the store where they'd met.

"G-Gokudera, I'm c-cold..."

In irritation, Gokudera turned to face her. Haru had her hands balled up into fists, and they were bare, turning red from cold. He swore. "Where the fuck are your gloves, stupid woman?"

"Haru didn't bring any, dummy." Haru looked away and pouted. "Don't tell me you just noticed."

"Well why not?" Gokudera snapped. "That might just be the stupidest thing you've ever done. Take these, I don't want your fingers to fall off."

Haru blinked in surprise at the gloves that were shoved in her face. She took them, her face breaking into a pleased smile. For some reason, surrounded in snowy trees, Haru looked faintly angelic. "Thanks, Gokudera!"

The bomber looked away suddenly. His face was red. "Don't make me take them back!"

Still smiling in a slap-happy way (why was he surrounded by smiling idiots?) Haru pulled the warm gloves on and began following Gokudera through the dilapidated buildings. She stopped when he turned left.

"Stupidera, I'm pretty sure that it's the other way."

"No, it's this way, stupid woman!"

The pair scowled at each other. Haru crossed her arms more tightly, tilting her chin up. It was a gesture of defiance, one that Gokudera matched by crossing his arms as well. He was determined not to give in to her- no one was more stubborn than he, not even an idiot like Haru.

"You're wrong," Haru insisted. "Trust me, I've been living in Namimori for longer than you, I think I know better than you-"

"You think you're better than me, bitch?" Gokudera snarled, reaching inside his jacket. Haru squealed. Gokudera relaxed his posture and turned away. "We're going this way."

Oh, he was not in a good mood. After wandering through decrepit amusement park with a stupid woman in freezing weather, Gokudera would have been _more_ than happy to blow her head off with a few choice dynamites.

"We're going this way!"

Too bad Tsuna had put a ban on the dynamite bit. (Something about being scaring the shit out of people and sending Yamamoto to the hospital and being a public menace in general...) Gokudera growled, and muttered curses under his breath, noticing how Haru's bottom lip pushed out when she had that defiant look.

"No, we're going this way!" He pointed into the trees. "Now you'd better start moving, stupid woman!"

"No! Haru's going this way!" Haru planted her feet in the snow. "You're perfectly welcome to freeze your stupid butt off in the woods, though!"

"Come on!" growled Gokudera. He grabbed Haru's arm and pulled.

"Nuh-uh!"

"The tenth will kill me if you get pneumonia or something, stupid woman!"

Haru looked like she might cry. "Stop calling me a stupid woman when it's you who's the stupid one!"

"Move your stupid ass already!"

"No- Eek!" Haru's brown eyes got big. She slapped the back of her neck, and some snow fell on the ground by her feet. "Someone just hit Haru with a snowball!"

Gokudera stared at the girl for a few seconds. She stared back, red-faced, eyebrows drawn. Then he burst into laughter; he couldn't help it- the expression on her face was truly priceless.

"It's not funny, someone's- eek! They did it again!" Haru whirled around, clenching her hand into a fist. "Come out of there, idiot!"

"Maybe the squirrels will be out to get you next, stupid woma-OW!" Gokudera grabbed his cheek.

"See!"

"Okay, that's it, you'd better get out of there or I'll make you!" he threatened. Gokudera bent down and packed the snow into a snowball. He held it up threateningly. "Don't make me come in there!"

Haru squeaked and was pelted with a snowball. "Stop it!"

"That's it!" Gokudera threw the snowball into the bushes behind Haru as hard as he could.

There was a dull thud. Nervously, Gokudera and Haru crept up on the bush. Gokudera's heart thumped- what if it wasn't just some random kid playing a prank? What if there was mugger or something worse in those bushes? Or a ghost?

_"...Kufufu..."_

They both exchanged white-faced looks, shrieked something akin to 'ghost' and sprinted off in the direction Haru had wanted to go as fast as they could.

* * *

><p>The next day, Yamamoto appeared in front of Gokudera's apartment, spouting something about how Tsuna had mysteriously fallen off a waterfall during training (which was absolute bull) and 'caught a cold'. Gokudera groaned and simply decided he'd have to go to school without the tenth- he could make it up by bringing him some food or something later...<p>

"So, do you want to walk with me?" Yamamoto asked, smiling. "Since Tsuna's not here, and all... So you might not have anyone to walk with, right?"

"Are you implying that I don't have anyone to walk to school with?" he snapped, not in the mood for banter.

"Of course not," said Yamamoto, looking genuinely taken aback. "I just wanted to walk with Gokudera, haha."

"Ugh." Gokudera swallowed thickly and rubbed his nose, before sneezing. Then his face turned red- had he just shown cold symptoms in front of Yamamoto?

"Whatever, just let me..."

"Are you sick too, Gokudera?" Yamamoto smiled. "You don't have to come to school if you don't want to, but-"

"I'm not sick, you damn idiot! Jesus, just hang on, I'm grabbing my books..."

Yamamoto laughed.

A few moments later, Gokudera reappeared in his doorway, his book bag slung over his shoulder. He muttered something that was most likely a swear, looking up at the baseball player in front of him. "Alright, let's go, idiot."

Draping his arm around Gokudera's shoulder (which received yells, punches, and death threats, but ended with the arm in the same place) Yamamoto steered his shorter friend down the stairs of his apartment building and outside- where Gokudera was met with a most unpleasant surprise. Haru Miura was standing there, clutching his gloves with a bored expression on her face.

"Oi? Stupid woman?"

Haru squeaked and shoved the gloves at him. "H-Haru wanted to give these back! And thank you, Gokudera!" She bowed jerkily. "Haru would have probably caught a cold if you didn't lend her these!"

"Che." Gokudera took the gloves back, glaring at her. Again, he sneezed. "Yeah, well, maybe I wouldn't be sneezing if I hadn't."

"Ohh…" She blushed.

Yamamoto thumped Gokudera in the back, just a little too hard, and made him stumble forward and closer to Haru. Gokudera scowled back at him. ("Don't hit me, you idiot!" "Haha, sorry Dera, but you're just so skinny…") The baseball player flashed Gokudera a knowing grin, which seemed oddly out of character. "Haru said that she wanted to come with us, even after I told her that Tsuna was sick."

"Idiot, she wanted to return the gloves, so now-"

"Actually, Haru was wondering if she could walk with you guys!"

Oh, fabulous.

Gokudera scowled at both Haru and Yamamoto, who he was now certain were engaging in some sort of plot against him. Could it be any more obvious that she'd given up on Tsuna for this guy, the biggest idiot on the planet?

"Of course you can walk with us, Haru," said Yamamoto kindly. This earned another scowl. The girl grinned and grabbed onto his arm, waving Gokudera along with them.

Many explosions, insults, and injuries later, they reached the place where they were meant to part. Gokudera scowled at Haru and Yamamoto, who were still chatting intimately. Something about it was doing a very good job of pissing him off. He knew he should have gone on without them...

But Gokudera was one of those people who, admittedly, had no tolerance for unfairness. How Haru and Yamamoto were unfair, he didn't know, but it was. Gokudera grabbed Haru by the arm and yanked her away.

"Hey-!"

"Shut up, stupid woman." He pulled her arm, eliciting protests from Yamamoto. "Look, are you going to come look for the ghost after school or what? If you are, then I can stop by your school, because I don't want to be with you until after dark again. So?"

Haru winced. "Haru guesses that that's okay." She gave Yamamoto a sideward glance and leaned in to whisper in Gokudera's ear. (He blushed.) "Haru promised Bianchi she would help her with something tonight, if that's okay."

"What?" He turned his head.

This was a mistake, because Haru's lips grazed his cheekbones and nose. The two sprung apart, both covering their faces. "Eek, Gokudera!"

He stared at her. Haru's face was a brilliant shade of pink, and her eyes were bigger than normal. She put her hands over her mouth. It was a kind of cute expression, but Gokudera was more focused on the sudden amount of heat that his face seemed to be feeling. There was probably some sort of temperature fluke happening.

He grabbed Yamamoto by the arm and dragged him away. "Y-YAMAMOTO! LET'S GO!"

Once Haru was a suitable distance away, Gokudera finally looked at Yamamoto, a bit apprehensively. After all, he had just received an accidental kiss from his girlfriend (definitely _accidental_!) which would have pissed off most people. And he hated to admit it, but in a fight, Yamamoto could definitely hold his own against Gokudera. However, the idiot wasn't upset- he was _grinning_. A big, stupid, suggestive grin.

"That was an accident!"

"Sure it was."

"It WAS!"

"Whatever you say..."

* * *

><p>Gokudera was standing outside Midori Prep, trying his best to light a cigarette. Apparently, Midori closed thirty minutes later than Nami Middle did, and it was also an all-girl's school- something Gokudera had not known. He was now regretting this fact, because the various girls going in and out were all staring at him. Some were making a point of giggle, which he didn't get at all.<p>

A blond girl came up to him, hiking her skirt higher up on her hips. "Hey!"

He took a drag from his cigarette.

"Are you… waiting for someone?"

"Tch." Gokudera glared at the girl, whose face was bright red. "Yeah."

"Oh, really? Who is it?"

"Stupid woman," he said by way of explanation, enjoying the confusion on the blonde's face.

"Er, well… who's that?"

Gokudera sighed in annoyance, trying to decided whether to answer or blast the girl into outer space. She seemed harmless, but she was annoying as heck. "H-Haru Miura…"

Haru's name felt weird in his mouth, sort of awkward, and just saying it made him blush. The girl obviously took that the wrong way.

"Oh, wow! Are you Haru's _boyfriend?_"

"No way! Who would go out with that stupid-"

"Oh, look!" someone announced in a bored tone. "It's Stupidera!"

Gokudera turned around and saw Haru standing behind him, wrapped in the same gray coat. He was almost relieved that she was there, to save him from the stupid blonde girl. "Stupid woman! I've been waiting for you!"

"Well, Haru can't help that!" she reasoned. "School didn't let out yet!"

"Yeah, well!"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed Gokudera's arm, shooting the blonde girl an evil look. "So, where are we going?"

Gokudera detached Haru from his arm as he walked. "Kokuyo. Chrome's there. And that's the only reason you're coming! I don't feel like talking to some dumb little pineapple girl by myself!"

"Yeah, yeah." Haru grinned.

About ten minutes of walking later, they arrived at the old amusement park. Kokuyo land was less scary in broad daylight, but it was still creepy-looking enough to make Haru grab onto Gokudera's arm again. This time, he didn't complain. He was _not_ scared- just taking pity on the stupid woman, that was all. (Maybe he could use her as a shield if one of the buildings collapsed…)

He tried to remember which way to go- the last time he'd been here, they'd been _fighting_ Mukuro, not going to visit him, but he was pretty sure they'd been living in the management building.

Gokudera and Haru made their way through the amusement park, holding their breaths. It was a totally creepy atmosphere- almost as if they were about to get jumped by some creepy man or chased by a ghost. They were just rounding the corner when there was a loud bang.

"Eek…"

"Stupid woman, you hold this," Gokudera muttered. He pressed the ring into her palm. "I'm going to see what that was."

He turned away and peered around the corner. In distress, Haru lunged after him. She clung to the strap of his messenger bag. She was about to open her mouth to protest, when-

"Hello, dears. Would you like to get your fortunes told?"

"EEK!"

* * *

><p>After Haru was no longer in danger of having a heart attack, Gokudera rounded on his sister angrily.<p>

She was sitting in a hastily erected fortune teller booth, smiling enigmatically. Bianchi's hair was underneath a blue turban with a red jewel set in it, and she had on dramatic make-up to match her turban and robes. On a cushion in front of her, there sat a crystal ball.

"_Bianchi!_ What the hell are you doing!"

"I'm not _Bianchi_," Bianchi said, still smiling. To her left, an assistant girl giggled. "My name is _Signora Esmerelda,_ and I'm a fortune teller. You simply _must_ get your fortunes told, Hayato and Haru."

Gokudera groaned and smacked himself in the forehead. "If you're not Bianchi, then how do you know our names!"

"_Signora_ Esmerelda knows all, my dear."

"Oh, god. What _is_ this? This has _got_ to be the weirdest thing you've ever done-" Gokudera cut off mid-sentence and took a closer look at 'Signora Esmerelda's' assistant. She smiled at him cutely, her one visible purple eye shining. Her other was hidden with violet hair. "-and is that Chrome Dokuro? _Bianchi!"_

"Eek! Chrome, you're so cute!" Haru squealed. She grabbed Chrome's hands. "Are you dressed up like a gypsy girl? You're _so adorable!"_

"I-I'm not C-Chrome," Chrome stuttered out, blushing. She smiled shyly. "I'm Jasmine!"

Haru hugged her. "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SO CUTE!"

Gokudera groaned in disbelief. Chrome was dressed up in a silk veil, parachute pants (seriously, what the hell?) and various scarves that were all the same color as her hair and eye. He could not _believe_ his sister had dragged the weird pineapple girl into this too. "_Seriously_, Bianchi. What gives?"

"Aw, come on Gokudera, she's cute!" Haru wagged her finger in his direction. "Be nice to Ch-Jasmine~"

"Are you actually going along with this! Haru!"

She pointedly ignored him and turned back to Chrome-in-disguise-as-Jasmine and 'Signora Esmerelda.'

Chrome, still smiling shyly, twisted the fabric of one of her scarves in her hand. "H-Haru and Storm Man, you should get your fortunes told!"

And Haru was sold, hook, line, and sinker.

Grumbling after the hard pinch Haru had given him, Gokudera sat himself down next to her in a folding chair. 'Jasmine' drew the curtains closed, leaving the only light in the tent to come from Bianchi's crystal ball. She smiled over the ball at them, giving her face an eerie look. (Thank god the make-up was so heavy.)

Bianchi had them both place their hands on the crystal ball. (Gokudera noticed Haru had put the ring on.) Then she placed her hands just over theirs, faking like she was entering some sort of trance. Haru looked like she was having boatloads of fun, annoyingly enough. Gokudera just squirmed in his seat. (Was she burning incense?)

"I have made contact with the spirits of the future," she announced dramatically, opening her eyes again. "If you will give me your hand, I will tell you your future. How about you first, Miss Miura?"

Haru giggled and put out her hand, the one with the ring. Bianchi's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. She glanced at Chrome, who came over to look at Haru's hand too. She suddenly beamed even brighter, cheeks turning red. Gokudera gave her a _look_. How could Mukuro Rokudo's vessel be _that_ adorable?

"H-Haru! Did the Storm Man give that to you?"

"Hm?" Haru stared at the ring on her finger. "Oh, yes! But it wasn't-"

In the second before Haru could finish her sentence, Chrome squealed loudly and threw her arms around Haru. Bianchi nodded and smiled serenely. "We are both very happy for you, Miss Miura."

"Eek! What? Haru doesn't-"

"It _worked_," Chrome said, clasping her hands. Gokudera and Haru both abandoned protests to stare at her. "I-I didn't think that it would work so fast… but…"

"Wait wait wait!" Gokudera put his hands up. "What the hell are you talking about, stupid pineapple girl?"

Chrome blushed.

Bianchi smiled graciously. "Our _plan_, of course."

A beat passed.

"Your plan." Gokudera stared at his older sister's heavily made up face, frowning in concentration. He nodded to himself. "What fucking plan!"

"To get you and Haru together, _silly_."

Another beat.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU STUPID BITCH! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU-"

Bianchi shut Gokudera up by shoving a pastry in his mouth. Gokudera actually quieted down to chew the pastry and swallow it, before he realized it was poisonous and spat it out. Meanwhile, 'Jasmine' turned to Haru. (She was completely speechless.)

"Well, I wanted to help you and the Storm Man get together… s-so Bianchi suggested I could give Storm Man this ring, but I had to make sure that he didn't know who gave it to him or it wouldn't work… see, he was supposed to give the ring to you… it's a good plan, ne?" She beamed.

There were so many thoughts running through Gokudera's head at that moment that he couldn't even voice a single one of them. His first thought was about how ridiculous that was. It had to be the worst plan ever even thought of, and _why_ did Chrome think it would be a good idea for them to get together anyway? He exchanged glances with Haru- for once, they were obviously thinking the same thoughts.

_What was wrong with Chrome?_

Bianchi placed her hands on the crystal ball once again. "I see love in your future."

Chrome giggled shyly, and watched them with starry eyes.

* * *

><p>Haru pushed off the ground, clinging tightly to the chains of the swing. She pouted, keeping her arms in close to her sides. The brunette's cheeks and nose were pink from cold, but the yellow lights from the park lamps made her look like she was glowing. She would be cute, Gokudera admitted, if she could just <em>shut her stupid mouth<em> for a while. This was exactly why Chrome's 'genius' (read: fucking insane) plan would never work.

The girl was adorable, but she didn't seem to have much in the way of brains.

"Haru gets it now," Haru proclaimed loudly, looking up. Gokudera tipped his head to the side. "You know, when we went to Kokuyo and got lost yesterday? And something threw snowballs at us? That must have been Chrome's friend, what's-his-name-"

"_Mukuro,_" Gokudera hissed. He swore loudly, earning a glare from Haru. "That damn bastard, he's probably behind all of this!"

"Eek? Haru thought that Mukuro was supposed to be really smart, couldn't he think of a better plan?"

"Yeah, he could," Gokudera explained, "but he didn't want to get us t-together. He just wanted to make Chrome happy and screw with our fucking heads! I'm going to hunt that bastard down and _kill him!"_

"That stupid pineapple!" Haru cried. She jumped off the swing, making a fist to show her determination. "Haru will help!"

They both went quiet.

The sun was going down, and Gokudera did not relish the idea of going back to Kokuyo right then. Apparently, neither did Haru, because she smoothed her palm out and looked in the direction of Tsuna's house. "Haru was supposed to meet Bianchi, but…"

"I don't want to see my stupid sister either," he snarled.

"Oh, yeah." Haru slid the ring off her finger and held it out to Gokudera. "You should probably take this back- Haru doesn't want anyone to get the wrong idea… What do you want to do with it?"

Gokudera scowled at the ring. Bianchi had given that to him; trying to get him to date one of the most annoying girls on the planet. He'd just as soon drop the thing in boiling lava. "_I_ don't want the damn thing."

"How can you say that?" Haru exclaimed. "Your sister paid good money for this!"

"Y-Yeah, trying to set us up," he muttered, looking away.

It was perfectly natural to blush at that thought- who _wouldn't_ be embarrassed?

"Well, you could give it to the girl you… you know, _like_," Haru mumbled. She played with the hem of her coat.

"Huh, do you think I'd actually _like_ a girl?"

"Oh." Haru's face suddenly turned bright pink. She looked anywhere but Gokudera's face, stumbling over her next words. "Um, well, that is, I guess I sort of saw the evidence, but, I didn't think that, you know, Gokudera was…"

He turned red too. "What are you thinking, stupid woman! I'm not gay!"

"Haru didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, right!"

The silence around them became awkward, although Haru did look noticeably more relieved. Gokudera, still red, looked away from her. How could anyone mistake him to be gay?

"So… Haru will go home." She nodded, still standing awkwardly in front of Gokudera.

"So go."

"Hmph. Stupidera."

In exasperation, Gokudera threw his hands up and huffed loudly. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "Fine then! Do what you like! I'm going home!"

"Hey! You have to take Haru home first!"

"Why the hell would I do that, stupid!"

Haru just pouted, apparently unwilling to continue the argument. Once more they fell into an awkward silence. Gokudera lit his cigarette, and Haru scowled at the smoke. She didn't make any attempt to stop him, though.

He sighed and turned away- it was boring when she didn't take the bait. The bomber shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk of the park.

"Eek! Gokudera! You can't-"

"Which way's your house, stupid woman?"

"O-oh…"

Haru grabbed Gokudera by the arm for the third time that day and guided him towards her house.

* * *

><p>"So," Bianchi said to him the next day. She placed her chin in the palms of her hands, goggles tinting her green eyes yellow. "What did you do with that ring?"<p>

"I let the stupid woman keep it," Gokudera responded, shifting uncomfortably. "Was the dumb pineapple girl upset yesterday?"

Bianchi's eyes lit up. "Oh, how _sweet _of you, Hayato. You're worrying about Chrome's feelings~"

"I am _not!_" He retorted sharply. Gokudera really really just didn't want to deal with waterworks from her. But he had a feeling Bianchi would have taken that out of context, so he dropped it. "Was the other dumb pineapple the one who came up with her so-called 'genius plan?'"

"Come now, Hayato." ("I said not to call me that!") "You must admit, it was rather adorable."

He clicked his tongue. Gokudera couldn't deny that without lying. "Yeah, well, why'd you go along with it?"

"Because," said Bianchi knowingly, "she seemed very excited. Besides, who knows? It did kind of work, didn't it?"

"It did not work, stupid!"

Bianchi stood up from the table, leaving her brother red-faced and fuming. She winked at him and turned away, to enter the kitchen and tend to something boiling on the stove. It was purple, green, and bubbling rather forebodingly. Gokudera made a mental note to get out of the Sawada household the minute she started offering him plates of goo. He'd gone to the house after receiving a rather worrisome call from Reborn, only to find the tenth wasn't even there.

Reborn had probably just wanted him to talk to Bianchi.

"Well, you must admit, Haru is a pretty cute girl as well. You two would-"

"SHUT UP!"

She snickered.

Gokudera sulked and rested his chin on his palm, looking away from his sister. She and Chrome were totally forgetting something (besides the fact he would _never_ go out with Haru)- Haru and Yamamoto had some sort of thing going on.

That was such a weird thought, but then again, they were both stupid idiots who were normally so happy that he suspected they were trading drugs with each other. But Haru just a bit _too_ nice to deal with Yamamoto. The idiot needed someone less… complacent, maybe. Something just didn't fit right.

"I don't understand why you're trying to pair us up when she's-"

"Bianchi!"

Speak of the devil.

Haru entered the room, accompanied by Yamamoto. Nana Sawada followed them and went into the kitchen to speak with Bianchi.

"Gokudera! I knew you would be here!" Yamamoto beamed at him. "I found Haru walking down to your apartment, but you weren't there."

"Hmph. Sure you did."

"Haha? I don't know what that means…"

Gokudera 'tched' and looked away from the two idiots. With a shrug, Yamamoto left Haru alone to sit down next to Gokudera at the table. He went into the kitchen and started to talk with Bianchi, closing the door behind him.

Haru, face flushed red, held out her hand. In the palm, rested the ring. "Haru thought you might want this back. You didn't say anything last night."

"You know what? Just keep it."

She smiled and slipped the ring on her fourth finger, making Gokudera blush. "Eek! It feels weird to wear this!"

"You shouldn't wear it on that finger, stupid!"

"Why not!"

"Because…." He suddenly found himself unable to speak. "Just because, stupid! Don't you know?"

"Haru doesn't know! Jeez, you're stupider than usual today!"

"Just go die!"

Haru huffed and looked in the opposite direction, crossing her arms. Unintentionally, Gokudera mimicked her actions. The silence between them was tense- it seemed like they were back to normal. Just when he was about to get up and leave, he heard that Haru had begun to laugh.

"Stupid, what's so funny?"

"Sorry! Haru just had a feeling like you were being nicer than usual to her today…"

"Hn." Gokudera frowned. "If I'm mean to you, stupid woman, do you know what my sister will say? She'll say I'm just being mean to you because I secretly like you and I want your attention! She's so stupid!"

"Well… is it true?"

More awkward silence.

"N-NO! WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU GETTING THAT IDEA!

Haru blushed bright red. "You said it, Stupidera!"

"I would never like a dumb girl like you!" he snapped. He looked away from Haru, who was beginning to look dejected. "Besides, you shouldn't be thinking about that! Aren't you dating the baseball idiot?"

"…Yamamoto…?"

"Yes!" he yelled back. "You guys keep on talking about him and stuff-"

"N-no! You're misunderstanding!"

"And you're constantly 'meeting up together'-"

"W-well, Haru wanted to talk to you, Stupidera!"

"Ha, right! You hate me just as much as I hate you!"

There was no snarky response.

Gokudera looked back to Haru, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed. She looked sort of guilty, big brown eyes averted, and her cheeks were red. Haru opened and closed her mouth. "That is…"

"Well? Spit it out!"

Haru 'hmphed.'

"Stupid woman!"

He felt something soft touch his cheek.

Gokudera turned bright red and grabbed his cheek. He was so shocked that he ended up tipping the chair he was sitting in over, and hit the ground _hard_. All the air whooshed out of him.

Haru crossed her arms across her chest, blushing. "D-Don't misunderstand, Haru was just thanking you," she huffed. "For the ring."

"You have a boyfriend!"

"I do not! Yamamoto likes B… someone else!"

"…_What?_"

"You heard Haru! He likes someone else!"

"Who could that idiot possibly like!"

"That's not the point," Haru said patiently. She stood from her own seat, and helped the still blushing Gokudera right both himself and his chair. (Gokudera took a deep breath.) Haru shook her head at this uncharacteristic display of clumsiness from the storm guardian.

"Then what is your point, stupid?" Gokudera scowled at her.

Once again, he was caught off guard. Haru pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and then leaned away, looking very adorable in her sudden redness. "Thank you!"

"Y-You already said that, stupid woman!"

"Eek! Haru j-just wanted to say it again!"

* * *

><p>In the kitchen, Yamamoto could hear a <em>loud<em> crash.

Nana Sawada turned around, looking slightly worried. She put a finger to her lips, and frowned. Behind her, Bianchi smirked and continued to stir her pots. "Oh, dear, Takeshi. Do you think there's something going on in there? That sounded dangerous…"

Yamamoto laughed. Haru and Gokudera were sure loud. "Haha, nope, Maman. They're just having a little lover's spat."

"I see!" Nana smiled. "It's good to be young, isn't it?"

"Sure is!"

Nana turned to Bianchi, who had the biggest smirk that Yamamoto had ever seen on her delicate face. "Sweetheart, would you mind watching the dinner for me for a moment? I ought to go and check on Lambo."

"Of course, maman." Bianchi smiled prettily.

There was more shouting from the other room.

"They _are _rather loud, aren't they?" Nana laughed and exited the room.

Yamamoto hoped that it was going well in there; Gokudera and Haru would make a nice couple. He hoped that they would be happy, but it would also please Bianchi as well,

He meandered over to the counter next to her and leaned there, smiling down at the older girl. "Bianchi, what are you and Maman cooking?"

Bianchi pointed to the pot in front of her. It was purple, exactly the shade of raisins (Yamamoto hated raisins. He really, really did.) and bubbling suspiciously. "It's a cream of broccoli soup, Takeshi Yamamoto. I'll make sure to give you some to take home later. There's also some cookies for Tsuna and Reborn over there."

"…Sounds delicious!"

She smiled to herself and turned away. A second later, they both heard Gokudera shout something. Yamamoto stiffened.

The teenage girl in front of him, however, merely looked amused. Bianchi raised her eyebrows and looked fondly in the direction of the dining room. "Oh, did Hayato just say that Haru was dating _you?_"

Yamamoto laughed nervously. "I-It's not true!"

Bianchi made a noise of half-laughter, and closed her eyes. She moved away from the soup and the platter of rotten-looking cookies. "I know that, Takeshi."

"You do?"

"Of course." She looked back over her shoulder at him. "You like me, don't you?"

"Haha, that's right!"

The redhead returned to rummaging through the cabinets for some spices. While she wasn't looking, Yamamoto picked up one of her cookies and bit into it.

"Hands away from my cookies, Takeshi Yamamoto!"

"Haha!"

* * *

><p><strong>So. Yeah. :DDD BIANCHI AND CHROME ARE SUPER EPIC.<strong>

**Omigosh, I really want to see gypsy Chrome now! Eek! I swear, I kept on stopping while I was writing that part to squeal like an idiot about how adorable Chrome is. I think I made her a bit more dense than she is in reality, but, oh well. :P SHE. IS. SO. ADORABLE.**

**Yamamoto and Bianchi- I think I like their interaction more than Gokudera and Haru's. It's difficult to write oneshots about characters with love-hate relationships, unless they're time-spanning oneshots. This one takes place in just a few days. Yamamoto and Bianchi, however, are epic. :D I can totally picture them as partners in crime.**

**By the way, FLAN IS AS ADORABLE AS CHROME! :DDD Did you see how serious he looked! You could tell he wasn't joking! He thought Mukuro was a fairy! xD**

**On a random note, both of my ankles are sprained. o_o''' One was already sprained, and then I REsprained it, I guess... if that makes sense... at the same time I sprained the other one. 0_0 I recieved much ridicule for that.**

**Review! Review because Levi's a super-pervert who tried to hit on M.M! (...) Well... you might not want to review because of that... Review anyway!**


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